Brazil

Greece's first processing plant for natural sweeteners made of stevia, a plant native to Brazil and Paraguay, is set to open in the central Greek region of Kardista, the ANA-MPA reported on Thursday.

Global engineer leader Robertshaw will now be the new owner of CastFutura goods manufacturer, which has bases in Gorna Malina as well as in Plovdiv, reports Money.bg

At the end of December, the US company has completed the acquisition of the Italian CastFutura, which until now has been the owner of the Bulgarian company Cast Futa BG.

An executive in an Israeli construction firm was arrested in Bulgaria on Thursday at the request of Guatemalan authorities over suspicions he paid millions of dollars in bribes to a Guatemalan minister in order to secure government construction contracts for his company, reported Times of Israel. 

Greek authorities have broken a drugs ring importing narcotics into the country as dehydrated 'superfood' berries implanted with cocaine, police said on Wednesday.

Police in Athens said they had confiscated 36 kg (79 lb) of acai berries, which could have as much as 18 kg (39 lb) of cocaine extracted from them in a rehydration process.

The beginning of extensive staffing refreshment of our diplomatic network in the coming months could be changes in the Cultural Center in Paris, reads the article.

The International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) officially confirmed the distribution of Tokyo Intercontinental Olympic Qualifying Teams in 2020, reports Sportal.bg.

Qualifications tournaments begin on August 2, 2019, with women's matches. The Bulgarian national team fell into Group C with the United States, Argentina and Kazakhstan.

The United States Geological Survey reports a preliminary magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck near Tarauaca, Brazil on Saturday.

The quake hit at 2:25 PM local time at a depth of 575 kilometers.

This handout picture released by the Brazilian presidency shows US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) meeting with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (L) at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on January 2, 2019. Photo by Marcos CORREA / Brazilian Presidency / AFP)

Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has used his inaugural speech to promise to build a "society without discrimination or division", reported BBC. 

The former army captain told Congress he wanted a "national pact" to free Brazil of corruption, crime and economic mismanagement.

In a swipe at the left, he vowed to free Brazil of "ideology".

The Serbian Foreign Ministry (MFA) announced this on Wednesday, adding that during their brief conversation, Dacic informed Pompeo about the current state of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.

Dacic also invited the US official to visit Serbia.